I'll Be Right There Beside You - A Jesse Anderson Oneshot
by rizanicole
Summary: This is a random Jesse Anderson oneshot that I came up with years ago, and decided to publish here. I hope you like it! **Originally published on Quizilla 6/06/2012**


"Jesse, you totally kicked butt in that duel!"

"Yeah, man! That was awesome!"

Jaden, Jesse, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, and Nina were celebrating Jesse's victory over a high-ranked Obelisk student as they walked back to their dorms. The duel had been really close, but not surprisingly, Jesse had pulled out a victory in the end.

"Thanks, guys!" Jesse said, scratching the back of his head with a grin. "I'm not real sure how I managed it, to be honest."

Nina, the newest member of their little group, couldn't help but smile at Jesse's accent. She loved to hear him talk, and admired his kindness and bravery, as well.

Nina had transferred to Duel Academy soon after Jesse had, and was grateful when Jaden and his friends took her under their wing. Luckily, she got along well with all of them. She and Alexis had become especially close, for which reason Alexis was the only one who knew about Nina's crush on Jesse. Speaking of whom, there was something she needed to ask him...

Nina returned from her reverie to her still-cheering friends. She tried to muster up her courage for what she was about to do, for the request she was about to make was no small one. "Hey, Jesse, can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

A couple of the others looked a bit surprised at her random question, and Alexis gave a knowing grin, but Jesse just smiled at her. "Sure, Nina. No problem." Turning back to the others, he added, "Y'all go ahead. We'll catch up to ya in a couple minutes."

After the others had gone on, she and Jesse were left alone, as there were no other students around. "So, what is it that ya wanted to tell me, darlin'?"

Nina couldn't help but blush a little at Jesse's nickname for her, even though she knew it didn't mean anything romantic. "Well, it's kind of a lot to ask of you," she began. "You see, ever since I was about seven years old, I've gone through times in my life where I would suffer from fainting spells."

Jesse looked sort of surprised at this point, but said nothing, so she went on.

"Until recently, I hadn't gotten one for about six months, so I was hoping they were finally gone. But then a few days ago, I just sort of fell over in the middle of my dorm room, and didn't wake up for about five minutes. If it would only happen in my room, that would be okay, but these things can happen anywhere, and I only have a couple seconds' warning beforehand. Generally, if someone thinks they're at risk for fainting spells, it's good to always have someone with them. I mean, I've been getting them for years, but it's still scary to wake up all alone in the middle of nowhere."

Jesse nodded in understanding.

"So, what I wanted to ask you, is if you would walk with me to and from my classes during the day. I mean, we have the exact same schedule, so I wouldn't be dragging you anywhere out of your way. And usually, I wake up pretty quick after these things, but I've been out longer than that before. If they last more than ten minutes, I'm supposed to go to the infirmary." She blushed a little at her next statement. "So, I figured that since you're strong and all, you could carry me there if you ever had to. I could ask the teachers to get someone to walk around with me, but I don't really like the idea of Crowler following me around everywhere, if you know what I mean. And if there's ever a day when you had something else going on, I'm sure I could get Jaden to look after me for the day. So, yeah. I know it's a lot to ask, but what do you say?"

She looked up at him hopefully.

Jesse just smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. In his mind, this was a great excuse to spend more time with the girl he liked. "Sure thing, Nina. I'd be happy to 'escort' you to your classes."

She looked relieved and moved to face him so she could hug him more fully. "Thank you so much, Jesse. You're an awesome friend."

He wrapped his arms around her back in return. "Anything for you, darlin'."

Two days later, Jesse saw Nina faint for the first time. They were walking across the lawn after their last class of the day, when Nina stopped dead in her tracks. Jesse realized the change immediately. "Hey, Nina? Is somethin' wrong?"

She stared into space for a couple of seconds, and then just fell over. Luckily, Jesse was fast. He caught her in his arms just before she hit the ground.

"Nina, you in there?"

He got no response, just as he had expected.

Not knowing what else to do, he continued to hold her in his arms, making sure to support her head. Much to his relief, she came to a few minutes later.

"Hhnnn, Jesse?" She still seemed a little foggy.

He nodded. "Yep, it's me. You fainted a few minutes ago, but I caught ya."

By this point, she seemed more aware of her surroundings, and smiled at him. "Thanks, Jesse. I'm really glad you were here."

At this point, the two of them seemed to become aware of their slightly awkward position. They both blushed. "Uh, you can put me down now, Jesse."

"Oh, right," he said, helping her to stand up. "Are you sure you can walk alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. But when she went to take her first step, she stumbled and almost fell down. In fact, she would have fallen, if Jesse hadn't caught her again.

After making sure she was okay, he chuckled. "I don't think you can walk too well on your own right now, darlin'. Here, I'll just carry you back to your dorm." He picked her up in his arms bridal style.

As much as she liked for Jesse to hold her, she forced herself to object. "No, Jesse, you don't need to carry me that long distance. I'll be fine, really." But he wouldn't hear any of it.

"Nope, I'm not giving you a choice. And besides, carrying you that 'long distance' ain't a problem at all." He added jokingly, "I thought you gave me this job because I was strong."

She blushed when he brought up her previous statement, but made no more attempts to stop him. Instead, she put his arms around his neck to make it easier for him to carry her.

They reached the dorm about five minutes later. He didn't really want to put her down, and she didn't really want to leave his arms, but they both knew he couldn't walk into the girls' dorm with her. So, reluctantly, her put her back on her own two feet.

"Thanks a lot for your help, Jesse. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

He shook his head dismissively, and smiled at her. "I'm happy to help out any time you need me, darlin'." He bent down quickly and kissed her on the cheek, then turned to leave without another word. She was left standing there alone, blushing brightly, one hand on her face where his lips had been, as she watched him walk away.

Jesse continued to walk with Nina around campus for a couple of months, always there to catch her whenever she fainted. But then, after a few weeks went by without her having any problems, it seemed that her fainting spells were over.

"So," Nina explained to him, "since I've stopped fainting, that means you don't have to walk with me all the time any more." Even as the words left her lips, she felt sad. She had really enjoyed Jesse's company and his looking after her for the past few months, and her feelings for him had only grown stronger. She hated the idea that he would no longer be spending as much time with her.

Little did she know that similar thoughts were going through Jesse's mind at the same time. Being able to protect Nina had made him feel like he was useful and helpful to her. After catching her in his arms enough times, he had fallen in love with this girl.

He didn't want to leave her, and he wasn't about to just let her go.

"Well," he began nervously, "I know you don't really need me any more, but would it be okay if I kept walking with you, anyways?"

She was surprised at his request. Yes, the two of them were friends, but Jesse had lots of other friends, as well, so it didn't make sense to her that he would want to spend time with her exclusively.

"Sure, Jesse. I'm always happy to have your company. But, why would you want to?"

 _Alright, Anderson, moment of truth_ , he thought to himself.

"Well, to be completely honest with you, darlin'..." he trailed off in his speech for a moment, his face a bright red color. It took all of his courage to look her in the eyes when he said his next five words:

"It's because I love you."

Nina was completely floored by his confession. Of course, she loved him, too, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that he would actually return her feelings. In fact, she looked so incomprehensive that Jesse worried she might faint again.

"N-Nina? You alright? You're not gonna faint again, are you?" He started moving towards her to prepare to catch her.

His classic concern for her safety brought her back to reality. "No, I'm fine," she said with a slight wave of her hand. "I was just... surprised, is all." By now, Jesse's words were starting to sink in. She smiled at him, looking right into his anxious eyes. "And happy, as well. Because Jesse Anderson, I love you, too."

For a moment, he just looked at her in shock, like he couldn't believe what was going on. As soon as he had recovered though, he wasted no time in closing the space between them and kissing her sweetly.

Nina had fantasized about Jesse kissing her more than once, but never had the kiss been as wonderful as this one. His lips felt unbelievably soft and warm against her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him from pulling away, and he placed his his hands gently on either side of her waist.

They stayed like that for several minutes, until the need for air forced them to break apart. After they were able to breathe again, Jesse was the first to speak. "Wow."

She laughed at his eloquent speech. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"So," he continued hopefully, "does this mean that we're together now?"

She nodded at him with a smile. "I think that it does."

"Awesome!" He said, scooping her up in his arms with no warning to her whatsoever. She yelped a little in surprise, but didn't object, and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck again.

"Let's go tell the others!"

And he ran off across the Duel Academy lawn with her in his arms, both of them laughing the whole time.


End file.
